High School Artwork Now On Display At Local Hospital

nounced Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th).

BRICK – Artwork submitted by local high school students for the 2023 Congressional Art Competition for New Jersey’s Fourth Congressional District is now on display at Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center in Brick, an-

“The 2023 Congressional Art Competition is now underway, showcasing the amazing creativity and artistic talents of more than 85 students from 10 high schools across Ocean and Monmouth counties,” said Smith, who hosts the annual contest for high school students in his congressional district as part of a nationwide competition sponsored by the Congressional Institute.

“The impressive submissions from stu- dents in our area will be judged by a panel of three local professional artists, whose inspiring works of art are also on display,” Smith said.

Members of the community can view the artwork at the Outpatient Pavilion Building located at 425 Jack Martin Boulevard in Brick Township through the end of April before winners are announced at a ceremony in May.

“Thanks to Hackensack Meridian for hosting this year’s competition and providing a space to display the incredible works of our student artists for the community,” said Smith.

“We are privileged and honored to host this year’s Annual Congressional Art Competition and Exhibition at Ocean University Medical Center,” said Frank Citara, MBA, president and chief hospital executive. “Thank you to Representative Chris Smith for giving us the opportunity to foster the artistic talent of high school students in our community. The exhibition will be uplifting and inspiring to our patients, visitors, physicians, and team members who walk our halls every day.”

Returning to judge the 2023 art contest are local professional artists Debbie Jencsik, Jim Inzero, and Rich Thompson.

New Liquor License Laws Will Empower Towns, Small Businesses

From The Desk Of The

Governor Phil Murphy

ATLANTIC CITY – Speaking at the New Jersey Conference of Mayors 58th Annual Spring Conference in Atlantic City, Governor Phil Murphy announced the formation of a bipartisan coalition of mayors from across New Jersey who support the Murphy Administration’s comprehensive plan to reform and modernize New Jersey’s antiquated, Prohibition-era liquor license laws.

The coalition – “Mayors for Liquor Li- cense Reform” – includes 90 charter members who represent urban, suburban, and rural towns across a vast swath of New Jersey, all of which would benefit from the economic development generated by modernizing the State’s liquor license laws to make them more affordable, equitable, and accessible.

In lending their support and advocating for reform, all 90 charter members of the mayors’ coalition signed an open letter noting, “Given the exorbitant costs for a license, coupled with the lack of availability and the existing population cap for municipalities, the present system favors the economically advantaged while

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hampering mom-and-pop businesses and town with smaller populations.”

Governor Murphy first announced his goal of reforming New Jersey’s liquor license laws during his State of the State address in January, citing the exorbitant costs – sometimes as high as seven figures – and the lack of availability created by outdated population caps, all of which hinder small, diverse, and mom-and-pop establishments from flourishing. The Governor then unveiled a comprehensive proposal in February, that has since been introduced in the Legislature by Senator Gordon Johnson and Assemblyman Raj Mukherji, which would:

• Gradually phase out the existing population cap on licenses over five years until it is permanently eliminated;

• Maintain local control;

• Establish progressive prices and associated fees based upon business size and a cap on the annual renewal fee not to exceed $2,500;

• Repatriate inactive licenses to boost availability;

• Eliminate the secondary market that currently makes licenses unaffordable for small business owners;

• Permanently ease the restrictions that have hampered breweries; and

• Provide a mechanism to support existing license holders.

Since then, numerous chefs, restaurant owners, brewery owners, and now mayors have voiced their support for reforms to create a more equitable playing field with the potential to generate massive economic opportunities for small businesses and communities statewide.

“These mayors come from counties across the state. They represent more than one million residents of historic small towns, growing townships, and mid-sized cities,” said Governor Murphy. “But most important, they represent hundreds of small restaurants whose owners are being left out – and whose investments in their establishments are being left at-risk – because they do not have access to the liquor license that can allow them to better compete and stay in business. They understand the patent unfairness of our current liquor law regime and the significant local economic benefits that our proposed reforms would bring.”

From quaint Woodbine in southern Cape May County, to historic Clinton in northwest Hunterdon County, to the shore region of Bay Head, and the booming northern urban center of Newark, the growing list of mayors echoed Governor Murphy’s sentiment that liquor license reform will not only “create greater equity across the board, it will also serve as a major catalyst to spur economic development and strengthen and revitalize downtowns throughout New Jersey.”

The Murphy Administration continues to engage stakeholders and advocate for equitable reforms and looks forward to working with lawmakers to finalize a comprehensive plan that will eliminate the existing roadblocks and unlock New Jersey’s economic development potential.

Danger:

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He said his office works with communities to develop “wildfi re protection plans which identifies where fi re risks may be present and then we offer assistance to help mitigate the wildfi re risk measures. There is grant funding available as well. We also work with residents on evacuation plans,” McLaughlin said.

“Through our Firewise Communities USA program we help those residents to be prepared and take actions themselves to create conditions such as defensible space around their homes, changing things like replacing wood mulch to stone and to reduce flammable vegetation to less flammable vegetation,” McLaughlin added.

In speaking with members of the news media, Auhmichel said, “we were Firewise for seven years but we gave it up but my community (Country Walk of Lake Ridge off of Route 530) took it over. We put a fi rebreak in during that time. We got a $20,000 grant and we maintain it off our own budget.”

She added, “in 2014 we became the fi rst Firewise community in Manchester Township. I am currently on the Manchester Wildfi re Safety Committee. It is important because we are in the Pinelands and we are very vulnerable to wildfi res. It is not a hard sale in our community (to get them involved and aware of the safety factor).”

“Our community has really backed up the Firewise program completely. We had to have an educational session once a year to maintain our Firewise status. My community is only 304 homes and we would have between 150 to 200 people attending that session,” Auhmichel added.

She recalled a fast-moving fi re in 1995

Sports:

Continued From Page 5 game, and was third on the Profs in scoring at 8.6 points per outing. She fi nished in a two-way tie for fi rst on the team in assists with 47 and was charged with 37 turnovers. She added 39 steals. She appeared in 28 games and started 14. She was third on the team in minutes played per game at 21.0.

Adams was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week after helping the Profs to their eighth NJAC Tournament title in program history. She scored a season-high and contest-best 19 points and added eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 68-58 win over Kean University in the semifi nals. In a 79-70 conquest of New Jersey City University in the championship game, she netted 15 points and hammered for a team-high 11 rebounds.

Destiny Adams, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard-forward best known for her scoring prowess from anywhere on the court for the Hawks, proved her worth as a defensive player at the University of North Carolina, placing second on the Tar Heels in steals (50) and blocks (26). She averaged 4.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, added 18 assists while living in Roosevelt City. “When you came out of your house you saw flames right there shooting up and when I moved to Country Walk I was concerned that we only had one way in and we needed another way out of the community.”

The subject is periodically discussed at meetings of the Manchester Coordinating Council which features representatives from each of the township’s 27 age restricted communities.

McLaughlin said that prescribed burning season takes place from October 15 to March 15. The goal is to perform prescribed burning on approximately 20,000 acres of forest each year. “These controlled burns are small, about 75 percent reach a maximum of only 10 acres or less.” and was charged with 32 turnovers. She appeared in 33 games and started four, averaging 17.2 minutes per outing. Adams, who was scoreless, fouled out in 17 minutes, grabbed three rebounds, blocked one shot and made one steal in a 71-69 loss to Ohio State University in the second round of the NCAA Division I Tournament for the Tar Heels (22-11). Her dad, Dennis Adams, a former Manchester football, basketball and baseball standout and the school’s principal, was shown watching the game from the seats on ESPN.

Prescribed burns target “ladder fuels” in order to eliminate the starting point for wildfi res. Ladder fuels refer to the vegetation along the forest floor that allows a fi re to travel upward from the ground, to low tree branches on canopy trees, to tree tops, he explained.

He presented the scenario of a fi re starting in the shrubbery and spreading up tree trunks and branches – the name “ladder” fuels is a visualization of the process.

“We’re trying to break that connection,” said McLaughlin.

It is no coincidence that the State Forest Fire Service selects fall and spring to perform these prescribed burns. These are peak wildfi re seasons.

McLaughlin explained the springtime wildfi re season is much busier than the autumn due to factors like humidity, heat, and wind. Springtime is much more likely to see the spark of wildfi res than summer because summer has more humidity and more rainfall. The wetness doesn’t allow the leaves to dry out as quickly.

As a freshman, Adams averaged 3.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. She appeared in 28 games off the bench, averaging 8.1 minutes per outing. She added nine assists, 23 steals and eight blocks for the Tar Heels (25-7). She buried 29 of 69 attempts from the field overall (.420 percent) and canned 27 of 46 free throws (.587 percent). She fouled out of one game. Her dad, Dennis Adams, a former Manchester football, basketball and baseball standout and the school’s principal, was shown watching the game from the seats on ESPN. Got a story tip? Is your favorite athlete missing? Email Chris at cchristopher1259@ gmail.com. Feel free to check out Chris on Twitter (@cchristophernj) and Facebook (Chris Christopher)

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